AUGUST 10, 1998 13 COMPUTERS SOFTWARE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SCIENCE P R 0 F I L E Swell fella well-met: High-tech marketer is ‘ball of fire’ Sean Bisceglia has been in business since he was 7 and sold seashells to vacationers on the shores of Cape May, N.J. So, it was hardly surprising last month when, at age 32, he sold his $12.5-million high-technology marketing firm to Chicago-based Leo Burnett Co. The price wasn’t disclosed. TFA Communications LLC opened in 1991 after Mr. Bisceglia, then an account manager in Chicago for New York-based Grey Advertising Inc., recognized the technology industry’s rapid growth. He grew TFA into the nation’s fifth-largest business-to-business technology marketing agency, providing marketing, advertising and direct-mail services to such clients as Schaumburg-based Motorola Inc. and Houston-based Compaq Computer Corp. Mr. Bisceglia, now CEO of TFA/Leo Burnett Technology Group and an executive vice-president of Leo Burnett USA, founded TFA with a $7,000 loan from his father. He grew the firm 50% annually by reinvesting half its net income. "I made $22,000 my first two years, while everyone else made a good living," says Mr. Bisceglia. His decision to sell comes as technology products flood the consumer market and clients demand consumer branding and media advertising services. Mr. Bisceglia made a five-year commit-ment to TFA/Leo Burnett and concedes he probably will pursue other ventures after that. "He is an entrepreneur, and if he doesn’t stay in the agency business, I can see him developing some kind of a niche product - a ‘must have,’ says Ellen Butler, director of product marketing for Downers Grove-based May & Speh Inc., a TFA client. "Around here we call him ‘a ball of fire.’ Next Article Press Archive